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The American Melting Pot is a metaphor used since the 1780s to describe diverse cultures “melting” into one common American culture. As more and more people come here but maintain their homeland and regional cultures, it becomes harder and harder to describe a single, common American culture, perhaps the metaphor of a salad bowl is more appropriate today. Some people think this is as it should be, while others see value in a country having a shared culture, broadly speaking. In this conversation, we consider what IS American culture.
Living Room Conversations offers a simple, sociable and structured way to practice communicating across differences while building understanding and relationships. Typically, 4-6 people meet in person or by video call for about 90 minutes to listen to and be heard by others on one of our nearly 100 topics. Rather than debating or convincing others, we take turns talking to share, learn, and be curious. No preparation is required, though background links with balanced views are available on some topic pages online. Anyone can host using these italicized instructions. Hosts also participate.
Share your name, where you live, what drew you here, and if this is your first conversation.
These will set the tone of our conversation; participants may volunteer to take turns reading them aloud. (Click here for the full conversation agreements.)
Optional: a participant can keep track of time and gently let people know when their time has elapsed.
Each participant can take 1-2 minutes to answer one of these questions:
Take ~2 minutes each to answer a question below without interruption or crosstalk. After everyone has answered, the group may take a few minutes for clarifying or follow up questions/responses. Continue exploring additional questions as time allows..
Take 2 minutes to answer one of the following questions: